I get asked this a lot. Storyfort is a literary festival that takes place under the umbrella of Treefort Music Fest™, every March. I took over as Director of Storyfort in early 2023. Now, I’m building; trying my best to build a festival that I (me, myself) would want to attend. As writers we attend the festival like all other performing artists. Free water bottles and Pimento sandwiches in the artist lounge. We get wristbands that allow us to j-walk legally and borrow the mounties’ ponies as need-be. Yes, the cop horses are at our disposal.

We’re really getting there. (We are.)

I took over the fest from my good friend and writing mentor, Christian Winn, who had done a dope-as-heck job of bringing together a bunch of really awesome writers over the years: Tommy Orange, Jennifer Haigh, Jason Mott, Eileen Myles, Lidia Yuknavitch, Camille Acker, Jonathan Evison, Jennifer Haigh and Willy Vlautin—just to name a few. So many banging writers. So many different and filthy styles. I couldn’t fill Christian’s shoes when I took over. No way. I couldn’t. So, I had to do something different. I had to pivot. Now, if you look at the lineup since I took over, what you’re going to see are a lot of amazing writers on their first or second book, not their seventh or eighth. I’m looking to showcase the next generation; polished and rough; transgressive and wise; young (career, NOT age) and exciting. And there’s a lot of amazing writing talent in Idaho already. I have a great pool to draw from, our Off-Season Stories will be proof of that. There’s more talent than there is space at the festival.

So what do I do about that?

I’m trying to figure it out. And trying again. And trying again. To tie all this stuff together. To bundle it all up. And retie it. Over and over. Fucking boat knots. Trying to build the coolest events I can for next March. But I need help. All the help I can get. And not just from writers! If you’re a publisher, agent, editor, book designer—anything, everything!—get in contact. I’m looking to foster an atmosphere where all aspects of the publishing industry are being represented. Help me find and break new talent. Help me build a place where people come to find their new favorite writer. I’m open to all ideas. New ideas. Better ideas. If you have one great idea, please: reach out.